Eat
Fish and Veggies and Prosper
New
research outlines best heart-healthy diet strategies
New
research confirms what we should already know: Diets low in saturated
fats, high in omega-3 fatty acids, and high in fruits, vegetables, nuts,
and whole grains are the best for your heart.
"The
information was scattered in various papers," says Dr. Frank Hu, lead
investigator of the study and an associate professor of nutrition and
epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. "We tried to put all
the pieces together to solve the puzzle."
The
study, which appears in a recent issue of the Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA), identifies three "dietary
strategies" that seem to be effective in preventing coronary heart disease
(CHD).
"Such
diets," the researchers write, "together with regular physical activity,
avoidance of smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight, may prevent
the majority of cardiovascular disease in Western populations."
"That's
a huge statement by well-known researchers. That's the bottom line,"
says Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University
Medical Center in New York City.
"What
they're saying is stay away from saturated fat and cholesterol, stay
away from meat, whole milk, mayonnaise, ice cream. Moving towards a
plant-based diet is your best defense against not only heart disease,
but obesity and diabetes as well," she adds.
The
authors of the study, both professors at the Harvard School of Public
Health in Boston, searched the MEDLINE database of medical literature
for epidemiologic and clinical studies of dietary factors through May
2002. The authors ultimately examined 147 different studies and reviews
for conclusions on diet and coronary heart disease prevention.
Three
Strategies For Fighting Heart Disease
Three
individual strategies emerged as the best for fighting heart disease.
And they worked even better in combination.
The
first is to substitute unsaturated fats for saturated and trans-fats.
(Trans-fats are fats that have been altered, like those found in cookies,
crackers, candy, and margarine).
What
does that mean to the average person?
"That
means not eating red meat, whole milk, mayonnaise, ice cream, and other
whole dairy products," Heller says. "That has definitely been shown
to decrease the risk of heart disease."
Eating
meat or cheese interferes with the liver's ability to process fats and
therefore raises cholesterol in the arteries.
The
second strategy is to up your consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from
fish oil or plant sources. You can get these fatty acids from eating
fish regularly, and from consuming canola oil, soy bean oil, and flaxseed
oil.
The
third strategy is to consume a diet high in fruits, vegetables, nuts,
and whole grains and low in refined grains.
The
glycemic index (GI), which attempts to rank foods on how they affect
blood sugar levels, is still controversial, Hu says. It may be useful
to some degree in classifying starchy foods such as bread and potatoes
but it is not useful for classifying other foods such as protein, fruits,
and vegetables.
The
Relationship Between Dietary Fat and Obesity Still Debated
Similarly,
the study authors found that the relationship between dietary fat and
obesity is extremely controversial.
"The
conventional wisdom is that high-fat diets lead to obesity and diabetes.
This hasn't been supported by the scientific evidence," Hu says.
Calories
in general may lead to obesity, but not just calories from fat. In fact,
Hu adds, "there's more evidence that calories from carbohydrates, especially
refined carbohydrates and sugars, could be more detrimental for obesity
and diabetes."
Your
best bet is to combine the three dietary strategies outlined in the
report. "I can be a vegetarian and still eat a lot of white flour, processed
food, and white chocolate and still be overweight," Heller says. "You
want the effect of all three strategies. Nuts, seeds, legumes, vegetables,
fruits, whole grains, and soy products contain chemical compounds like
phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that help fight
disease of all kind. You're reinforcing your body's ability to stay
healthy every time you eat a food like that. So why not?"
Always
consult your physician for more information.
Online
Resources
American
Association of Diabetes Educators
American
Diabetes Association
American
Heart Association
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Journal
of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
|
January
2003
New
Research Outlines Best Heart-Healthy Diet Strategies
Three
Strategies For Fighting Heart Disease
The
Relationship Between Dietary Fat and Obesity Still Debated
Nuts,
Peanut Butter May Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Online
Resources
Diabetes
Services at St. John's Mercy
Find
a St. John's Mercy Physician
In
Other Diabetes Health News:
Nuts,
Peanut Butter May Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Study
finds enthusiasts at 27 percent reduced risk
If
you are nuts about nuts, take heart: The more you eat them, the
less likely you are to develop type 2 diabetes.
That
is the conclusion of a new study finding that women who eat at least
five ounces of nuts a week have a 27 percent lower risk of developing
type 2 diabetes than those who rarely or never consume them. Those
who eat peanut butter regularly also gain protection from the blood
sugar disorder, according to the study, which appears in a recent
issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA).
Experts
are not clear why nuts guard against type 2 diabetes, in which the
body's cells become insensitive to the hormone insulin. However,
nuts are high in healthful unsaturated fats and low in their harmful
saturated cousins. They are also rich in antioxidants and other
nutrients that may keep diabetes at bay.
"In
our study, this [effect] was independent of known risk factors for
type 2 diabetes," said Dr. Rui Jiang, a postdoctoral fellow at the
Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study. "It's
unlikely that other factors generated this inverse association."
An
estimated 17 million Americans have diabetes, and 16 million have
the type 2 form of the disease. Another 16 million people have "prediabetes,"
putting them at high risk of developing the full-blown illness.
Heart
disease is the leading killer of persons with diabetes, who face
two to four times the normal risk of heart attacks as a result of
their condition.
Even
a 27 percent reduction in the chances of getting diabetes is "pretty
substantial," said Dr. David Jenkins, a specialist in the condition
at the University of Toronto who studies the health benefits of
nuts. "All of us living in Western society are at risk."
Nuts
are not just a diabetes wonder, added Jenkins, who receives research
funding from the US almond industry. They have also been shown to
lower cholesterol and reduce heart disease.
The
Harvard researchers studied 83,818 women participating in the Nurses'
Health Study, a massive look at lifestyle and health begun in 1976.
In
1980, when the women were between 34 and 59 years old, 71 percent
said they almost never or seldom at nuts. About a quarter ate them
one to four times a week, and 5 percent ate at least five 1-ounce
servings a week. Women who ate nuts frequently tended to weigh less
than the others.
Over
the next 16 years, 3,206 women developed type 2 diabetes. Being
overweight is linked to the disease. But even after taking into
account pounds, smoking status, exercise habits, family history
of diabetes, and other risk factors, the researchers found that
higher nut intake cut the chances of having diabetes years later.
Women
who ate the most nuts had a 27 percent lower risk of developing
diabetes than those who ate the fewest. The risk for women who ate
nuts less than once a week was 8 percent lower, and it fell 16 percent
for those who ate nuts between one and four times a week. Women
who ate five servings a week or more of peanut butter—a substitute
measure for peanut consumption—had a 21 percent lower risk
of diabetes than those who ate none or almost none of the spread.
Penny
Kris-Etherton, a nutrition expert at Pennsylvania State University,
called the results "very interesting" but said she could not explain
them. "I'm not sure what it would be in nuts, other than a favorable
fat profile," she said.
Total
fat and unsaturated fat intake seem to help control insulin levels,
Kris-Etherton said. And perhaps there are nutrients in nuts that
also afford protection against blood sugar problems.
The
effect may also be due, at least in part, to the fact that when
people increase their nut intake and keep their calories steady,
their consumption of carbohydrates falls. Carbohydrates raise blood
sugar. "Maybe that is helping control a prediabetic state," Kris-Etherton
said.
Always
consult your physician for more information.
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